Koel Mallick

Koel Mallick, known mononymously as Koel, is an Indian actress known for her work primarily in Bengali films. Often referred to as the "Tolly-Queen", she is the recipient numerous accolades, including a Filmfare Awards Bangla, two BFJA Awards, and a Anandalok Puraskar. In 2023, she was honoured with the Mahanayak Samman by the Government of West Bengal.
The daughter of Ranjit Mallick, Koel made her acting debut with Nater Guru, which was a box-office success. She rose to fame starring in commercially successful films Shubhodrishti, Mon Mane Na, Premer Kahini, 100% Love and Rangbaaz. Starring roles in the top-grossing romances Paglu and Besh Korechi Prem Korechi, established her as a leading star in Bengali cinema. Her performances in the family drama Bandhan, the political thriller MLA Fatakeshto, the drama Dui Prithibi, the black comedy Hemlock Society, the thriller Mitin Mashi received critical acclaim.
In addition to acting in films, Koel is a social activist and noted for her work with widows and children. Koel has been married to the producer Nispal Singh since 2013, with whom she has two children.

Early life and education

Mallick was born in Kolkata to Bengali film actor Ranjit Mallick and Deepa Mallick, of Kolkata's Mallick Bari of Bhowanipore. Mallick did her schooling at Modern High School for Girls, and completed a BSc in Psychology from the Gokhale Memorial Girls' College, an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta.

Career

Film

Mallick's screen debut was in Nater Guru – opposite Jeet. Nater Guru was a "runaway success" at the box office. The film, released in 2003, marked Mallick's entry into Tollywood. She also won her first award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Female at the 4th Tele Cine Awards for Nater Guru. In the film, Mallick plays the role of a 23-year-old girl named Monica opposite Jeet. Since the release of Nater Guru the pair has worked together often, appearing in eleven films.
In 2004, she starred in Debipaksha, Shudhu Tumi, Badsha The King and Bandhan. While the first two performed poorly at the box office, Bandhan was a huge success in Bengal and was a blockbuster at the box office. It was also the highest grossing Bengali film of 2004.
In 2005, Mallick appeared in Shubhodrishti, Manik, Yuddho and Chore Chore Mastuto Bhai. In 2005, Koel Mallick entered the Odia film industry for the first time. In her first Odia film, Premi No.1, Mallick acted opposite Anubhav Mohanty. She appeared in Yuddho opposite Mithun Chakraborty and Debashree Roy. The film recorded an initial collection of 12 million in its first week. In 2006, she took on a more serious role in MLA Fatakeshto in which she played a reporter. She also starred in the 2008 film Love, the Bengali remake of Love Story.

Television

Mallick made her television debut with Zee Bangla's first Mahalaya in the year 2007 as Devi Mahisasuramardini and her various avatars. She also appeared in Didi No. 1 in 2010 as a celebrity contestant. She also hosted her first talk-show Katha O Kahini. The show went on to air on Star Jalsha.
In 2013 Mallick appeared as a celebrity judge in the Bengali version of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa along with Bollywood choreographer Remo D'Souza. The show aired on ETV Bangla. She also starred in Dance Bangla Dance Junior as a Judge and in Season 11 as a celebrity judge. She was also seen in Zee Bangla's various reality shows like Rannaghor, Dadagiri Unlimited, and Didi No. 1.
Mallick and Jeet were also seen as a guests in the Star Jalsha serial Sansar Sukher Hoy Romonir Gune for the promotion of the movie 100% Love. Mallick has also appeared on the popular soap Bojhena Se Bojhena which is also aired on STAR Jalsha.

Brand endorsements

Mallick has endorsed a variety of multi-national brands and has done television commercials for TVS Motor Company, glow & Lovely, Panasonic, and Vaseline.

Personal life

Mallick married Nispal Singh on 1 February 2013. They had been in a relationship for seven years before that, but both of them had decided to keep their relationship away from the glamour world of Tollywood. On 1 February 2020 she announced on Instagram that she was expecting her first child. On 5 May 2020, Mallick gave birth to a boy. The couple named their son Kabir Singh. On 3 October she announced the news of her second pregnancy via social media. On 14 December 2024 she gave birth to a baby girl.

Filmography

Films

All films are in Bengali unless otherwise noted.

Year	Films	Role	Language	Notes
2003	Nater Guru	Manisha Mukherjee	Bengali	Debut film; based on Samaresh Basu's novel of the same name; Winner, Tele Cine Awards for Best Actress; Winner, Kalakar Awards for Best Debudant Actress
2004	Badsha The King	Titli	Bengali
2004	Bandhan	Dual Roles; Meena and Reena Chowdhury	Bengali
2004	Shudhu Tumi	Nandini aka Bubly	Bengali
2004	Debipaksha	Jayanti	Bengali
2005	Manik	Riya Majumder	Bengali
2005	Yuddho	Barsha	Bengali
2005	Premi No. 1	Priti	Odia	Bilingual film
2005	Premi No. 1	Priti	Bengali	Bilingual film
2005	Shubhodrishti	Sonali	Bengali	Based on Jashwant Gangani's Gujarati story; Winner, Kalakar Awards for Best Rising Star; Winner, Anandalok Puraskar for Best Upcoming Star
2005	Chore Chore Mastuto Bhai	Malati	Bengali
2006	Hero	Puja Sen	Bengali
2006	Eri Naam Prem	Reena	Bengali
2006	Ghatak	Puja	Bengali
2006	Shikar	Seema	Bengali
2006	MLA Fatakeshto	Chaitali Roy	Bengali
2007	Nabab Nandini	Nandini	Bengali
2007	Minister Fatakeshto	Chaitali Roy	Bengali
2007	Chander Bari	Nandita Sanyal	Bengali
2007	Mahanayak	priti	odia
2008	Premer Kahini	Barsha	Bengali
2008	Mon Mane Na	Riya Sen	Bengali
2008	Chirosathi	Riya	Bengali
2008	Love	Riya	Bengali	Based on Erich Segal's 1970 novel Love Story
2008	Bor Asbe Ekhuni	Mitil	Bengali
2009	Saat Paake Bandha	Pallabi Sanyal	Bengali
2009	Jackpot	Piu	Bengali
2009	Neel Akasher Chadni	Chandni	Bengali
2009	Hitlist	Anindita	Bengali
2010	Bolo Na Tumi Aamar	Dr. Madhurima Chatterjee	Bengali
2010	Prem By Chance	Annapurna	Bengali
2010	Dui Prithibi	Dr. Nandini Sen	Bengali	Inspired from Motorcycle Diaries
2010	Mon Je Kore Uru Uru	Diya	Bengali
2011	Paglu	Rimi Sen	Bengali
2012	100% Love	Anuradha Sen	Bengali
2012	Jaaneman	Riya	Bengali
2012	Hemlock Society	Meghna	Bengali
2012	Paglu 2	Riya	Bengali
2012	Dawshomi	Tuli	Bengali
2013	Rangbaaz	Madhurima	Bengali
2014	Arundhati	Dual roles; Rani Arundhati and Mishti	Bengali
2014	Chaar	Monika Nandi	Bengali	Anthology film
2014	Highway	Sohini Dasgupta	Bengali
2015	Herogiri	Maria	Bengali
2015	Bangal Ghoti Fatafati	Jayanti	Bengali
2015	Besh Korechi Prem Korechi	Rai Roy	Bengali
2017	Chaya O Chobi	Rai	Bengali
2017	Cockpit	Riya	Bengali
2018	Ghare & Baire	Labanya	Bengali
2019	Shesh Theke Shuru	Pujarini	Bengali	Based on the 2005 English novel Water & Fire
2019	Mitin Mashi	Pragyaparamita Mukherjee alias Mitin Mashi	Bengali	Based on Suchitra Bhattacharya's story Haatey Matro Tintey Din
2019	Sagardwipey Jawker Dhan	Dr. Ruby Chatterjee	Bengali	Sequel to Jawker Dhan
2020	Rawkto Rawhoshyo	Swarnaja	Bengali
2021	Flyover	Bidisha	Bengali
2021	Bony	Pratibha Mukherjee	Bengali	Based on Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay's novel of the same name
2023	Jongole Mitin Mashi	Pragyaparamita Mukherjee alias Mitin Mashi	Bengali	Sequel to Mitin Mashi ; based on Suchitra Bhattacharya's novel Saranday Shoytan
2025	Sonar Kellay Jawker Dhan	Dr. Ruby Chatterjee	Bengali
2025	Sharthopor	Aparna Ghoshal	Bengali
2025	Mitin: Ekti Khunir Sandhaney	Pragyaparamita Mukherjee alias Mitin Mashi	Bengali	Third instalment of the Mitin Mashi franchise